IT contractors and freelancers may have seen a decline in the use of laptops with the rise of tablet computers such as the iPad, but one expert has said the technology is not ready to die yet.

Tom Royal, deputy editor at Computeractive magazine, said tablet computers will continue to rise in popularity as they have the advantage of being light, small and easy-to-use.

However, for "real work", he said laptops remain the most convenient way to type and run applications.

"It is likely we will see the iPad become more and more popular in certain areas, in certain types of business and with home users, but I think it would be foolish to write off laptops to history," added Mr Royal.

According to Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes, the tablet computer market is set to sell nearly 16 million units this year and almost double that figure in 2011.